Page 50 of Allison

More tears form, slipping down her cheeks. Her mind drifts to a handsome face and green eyes.No!She can’t just sit back and let herself be killed. She needs to do something!

Allison turns the volume down on her phone and dials 911. She holds her hand over the speaker to muffle the sound. She’ll have to be careful to not alert her kidnapper as to what she is up to, but she has to try.

“911, what’s the nature of your emergency?” The female voice is barely audible.

“You need to stop this car and let me out!” Allison shouts hoping the 911 operator will pick up on the fact she needs help. “You’re an Uber driver. Not letting me out when I ask you to is kidnapping! You’re supposed to take me home, not down…Mission Boulevard.”

Allison can faintly hear the 911 operator saying, “Ma’am are you there? What’s going on?” The car slows again, making a right turn.

“Why are you turning off Mission Boulevard onto Grand Ave?” Allison demands, doing her best to give the operator directions and as much description as possible so she can send help to save her. “Why is a 6’ tall, 250-pound Uber driver with dark brown hair, wearing a three-piece suit driving a black Lincoln Town car?” The car jerks to the side and comes to an abrupt stop.

The driver jumps out of the car, opens her door and grabs her, dragging her from the car. Allison screams loudly, hoping to draw the attention of someone nearby who will intervene on her behalf, but it seems they are close to the docks. Only empty warehouses surround them.

“Dammit!” The driver yells, snatching the phone from her hand. He backhands her, causing her to fall into the side of the car which knocks the breath from her lungs. He ends her call and turns off her phone before shoving it into his pocket. She is just getting her wind back when he grabs her by the upper arm forcing her back into the car not caring that she can’t duck her head in time to avoid the door frame, striking her head hard. The world goes dark.

33

WORM

Worm and his teammates are making good time on their way back to base. They’d stopped for gas and to stretch their legs about an hour ago. Virus is now driving with Worm riding shotgun. They’re drawing closer to Jacksonville when Hack’s phone begins to ring. Worm turns down the radio so the man can hear whoever is on the phone.

“Smith,” Hack answers, pausing to listen. A second later, “What?” Hack’s voice is raised and laced with concern. “When did she receive it?”

Worm wonders what is going on, but he doesn’t want to pry. If Hack needs anything he will let the team know. “Have her forward it to me, I’ll start working on it. Yeah, we are still on the road, but we are nearly home. I can run off cell service until I can get home. Tell Emma to calm down. I’m sure everything is fine.” Hack ends the call and reaches for his laptop.

“What’s wrong?” Lisa asks. “Who was that on the phone?”

“Wallace,” Hack replies while typing away on his computer.

“Wallace?” Virus questions. “I thought he’d be a little preoccupied.” They all chuckle. The man is on his honeymoon, after all.

“Emma is freaking out. She got a weird text from Allison, and now she isn’t answering her phone,” Hack informs us. “I’m sure everything is okay, but I’m going to look into it for them and help relieve her worries.”

“What kind of text?” Worm demands, more forcefully than he intended, concern creeping in. He wrestles his phone out of his back pocket. If Allison is in some kind of trouble, she’s a long fucking way away. It would take hours to get to her if she needs them. He shoots her a text.

Hey, sugar, is your day going okay?

He doesn’t want to alarm her if nothing is wrong, but he needs to hear from her to know she’s alright.

“She sent a screenshot of her Uber driver information,” Hack says, his phone pinging again. He takes a thoughtful look at his phone.

“Did she say why she was sending it?” Worm asks, trying, unsuccessfully, not to let the panic that is beginning in his belly to rise and overwhelm him. “Maybe she does that whenever she uses one?” Hack is deep into whatever he’s doing on his phone and not answering.

“If that’s the case, why would Emma be worried about her sending it?” Lisa wonders. “There is obviously something different about this or Emma wouldn’t be worrying about it while on her honeymoon.”

This is true. Emma has been planning the perfect wedding for over a year. She isn’t the type to get worked up over nothing. The nagging feeling that something is wrong is getting worse. The hair on the back of his neck is rising. Allison is in trouble.

He pulls up Allison’s contact information and calls her since she hasn’t answered his text. While the phone is ringing, he checks his messaging app. The text he’d sent her is showing delivered but not read. The phone rings for the fourth time when it connects. Hope swells for one brief second before he gets the recorded message letting him know he’s reached her voice mail.

“Hey, sugar, it’s me. Just checking on you. I thought you were going to call when you got home. Call me.” He ends the call and turns around to peer at Hack over his shoulder.

“Hack, how long is this going to take? You know, for you to track her phone and get Emma the answers she needs?” Hack glances up from his laptop.

“I have no idea, but I’ll update everyone as soon as I know something.”

Worm sighs. He understands it’s the best his friend can give him. Hack is one of the best computer experts around. If he can’t find the information, he knows who to contact to find it out, but that isn’t relieving Worm’s concerns in the least.

Worm needs to be patient, which is something he’s never had an issue with before, but now, he can’t find his calm. Even when his family had been falling apart or while out on a dangerous mission, he has never been worried or torn up inside.

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